The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation plans to fund organisations that will help them solve issues such as waste management and disposal

The BMC is still has to come up with a financial model for this policy. (HT FILE)

With a motive to first give help and then get help to solve civic issues, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is working on a policy to boost start-ups. The civic body plans to provide the new ventures with the required infrastructure and one-time investment to encourage young entrepreneurs to set up businesses that provide modern solutions to civic issues such as solid waste management, sewage disposal and traffic management.

For the start-up hub and innovation policy, the BMC has tied up with Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay’s (IIT-B) Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) that runs a similar start-up cell or incubation centre. The civic body has selected a plot in Andheri admeasuring 4,000 sq m to start its first incubation hub, which will house up to 10 offices.

Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray met with municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta on Monday to discuss prospects of this policy, and fast forward its implementation. Thackeray told HT, “We will be the first municipal corporation in the state to have a policy supporting start-ups. Right now we have tied up with the IIT-B, and the next step will be to tie up with cities around the world to provide better opportunities to the youth. After mills, services, information technology, the next big thing is start-ups, and this policy will make Mumbai a start-up hub. This was part of Shiv Sena’s manifesto, and I will be involved with the policy making process at each step of the way.”

Chandrashekhar Chore, deputy municipal commissioner in-charge of the project, said, “The core competence for handling the incubation centre will be provided by IIT-B, and the BMC will provide the infrastructure, and the start-up money for new businesses. The civic body’s interest in this is that we will get some start-ups which are relevant, and whose products, which range from ideas, physical products, or technology, will address civic problems.”

The BMC is still has to come up with a financial model for this policy. Start-ups will be charged a nominal fee or rent for using the incubation services, but not initially, as BMC will in fact invest in funding the start-up. Following this, the BMC may even adopt SINE’s model, where the institute holds up to 3% of the stakes on the profit of the start-up, Chore said.

Businesses will be allowed to use the facility until they are financially capable to take care of themselves, and if the business completely fails, they will have to move out of the incubation facility.